Over the next two weeks you might see someone walking on the street, sitting in a coffee shop or riding on the bus tuned into the Olympics on their mobiles or laptops or watching events that happened the previous day.
That's why the 2008 Olympics in Beijing isn't your grandmother's Olympics. And thanks to the leaps and bounds of technology in recent years, it's not even your mother's Olympics.
A lot of pressure has been put on technology to help raise Olympic viewing numbers and also attract younger viewers.
In a recent article covering the Olympics and its new reliance on technology, I was surprised to discover that the average viewer for the Athens Games in 2004 was 40 years old.
However, with the rise of technology and the Internet becoming more mobile, anyone with a mobile or a Wi-Fi connection is now able to tune into the Olympics. We know that kids of all ages now carry mobiles with them, to school, to friends' houses, and to after school activities for "safety" reasons and, because of this, younger generations can watch the Games anytime.
Many kids are also more familiar and up-to-date with the latest Internet offerings, and often more than their parents. With the 2008 Beijing Olympics being dubbed as the "first digital Olympics", the number of youngsters tuning in should increase.
An annual report on Asian telecoms market conducted in 12 countries by research company TNS showed 29 percent of Hong Kong children aged 6 to 15 have a mobile phone, followed by 25 percent in Australia and Japan.
New Zealand and Singapore came in third place with 24 percent. The regional average is 12 percent.
The youngest mobile phone owner in Hong Kong is just six years old.
With the increased fascination of social networking sites among young people, the Olympic Games will be played out on Facebook, and YouTube in an effort to engage them.
Streaming video from the Olympics over the Internet is a smart strategy as, for example, U.S. Internet users viewed more than 12 billion online videos during May, according to digital research firm Comscore. This is a 45 percent increase over the year before. Also, about one-third of those videos viewed were on YouTube.
Blogging is also highly encouraged for today’s youth during the Olympics. In February, the IOC said it would allow blogging by athletes for the first time at these Games. In 2010, the 3,500 competitors at the inaugural Youth Olympics will be urged to have their own blog, reported Reuters.
Advances in technology will also help a shine light on minority sports via streaming video on Web sites and digital television.
Also, 3G mobile phone technology could also have a huge impact on the Olympics, allowing athletes and visitors in the Chinese capital to share their experiences to those back home. People taking photos and video with their mobiles will change the way we watch the Games.
Watching the Olympics is no longer limited to your living room TV.
And with the Kids running the Olympics we may see different events sneaking into the Games that look good on You Tube or on any device.
Here are just a few ideas:
- blindfolded boxing
- duck duck goose - record attempt
- egg throwing
- extreme poker
- high speed ladder climbing
- high heel racing
- high heel racing (drag version)
- long distance trampoline race
- mobile phone throwing
- mud volleyball
- piggy back war
- piggy back racing
- piggy back jousting
- rock/paper/scissors championship
- shoe throwing
- shoe throwing at target
- toilet roll mummy
- trampoline basketball
- thumb war
- trike racing
- underwater swim sprint
- underpants jumping
- water balloon toss
- whats the time mr wolf
- world sauna championships
I would love to hear any other great Events you would like to see added to the Olympics to keep the kids interested